Means for fastening wire fabrics to fence or gate posts and the like



Dec. 10, 1929. s, pwoNsKl ET AL 1,738,609

MEANS FOR FASTENING WiRE FABRICS TO FENCE OR GATE POSTS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 14, 1929 supporting structure, and is readily manipu- Patented Dec. 10, 1929 i] it mecca STANLEY PIVONSKI, OF COLGATE, .AND FREDERICK JOSEPH GANITZ, IB 015 BALTI- MORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNORS TO ANCHOR POST FENCE COMFANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CQRPORATION OF NEW JERSEY MEANS FOR FASTENING WIRE FABRICS TO FENCE 01% GATE POSTS AND THE LIKE Application filed February 14, 1929.

This invention relates to devices for fastening,'under tension, wire fabric, especially of the woven chain-link type, to fence or gate posts, bars or similar supporting structures; 5 our object being to provide a simple and inexpensive construction whereby the effective and reliable attachment of the margin of the fabric to the adjacent supporting structure can be easily and rapidly attained.

The invention in the form or forms herein illustrated embodies the combination with a hollow supporting structure, wire fabric havwith the stretcher bar, and a threaded portion in co operative engagement with a nut element having a head and a bifurcated body which latter is seated in an aperture in the adjacent wall of the structure and is locked in place against withdrawal without restraining it against rotation by the expansive or spreading action of the shanks on the 1 internal walls'of said body when the element is manipulated. The head of the nut element bears against the opposing outer face of the I latlve by means of a suitable tool to adjust the shank and the stretcher bar in respect to the structure and thereby effect the requisite tenf sioning of the fabric. 7 a

The invention also comprises features of construction and combination of parts which will be hereinafter described, and the scope of claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragment of wire fabric and a part of a hollow post, or the like, to which the fabric is secured by a device embodying a form of our invention, the postbeing shown partly in section to expose the expansible nut element on the connecting shank of the device.

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the post showing a shank having a hook portion in engagement the invention then defined in the appended Serial No. 339,898.

the fastening device and the stretcher bar for the wlre fabric.

- F1g. 3 is a transverse yertical section of the post, as on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

'atory to its entry in an aperture of the wall.

Fig. 5 is a sectional'viewshowi'ng the ele- 'ments as assembled and locked to the post.

Fig. 6 is aperspective View of the expansible nut element.

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views showing a modified form of the nut element as inserted in the apertured post, respectively before and after the, interlocking engagement of the threaded shank with'said element.

4 Fig. 9 is atransverse-section through the modified nut element and the shank, ason the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a portion of a hollow or tubular support of generally rectangular cross-section, which sup-' port may, for example, constitute a post for a woven wire fence, or one of the mem-' bers of a gate frame wherein woven wire fabric is supported. A fragment of wire fabric 11 of the so-called chain-link type is illustrated as fastened to the support.

12 designates a stretcher bar extending through the marginal links of the fabric ad-' jacent to and parallel-with the support 10 and 13 designates one of a series of fasteners which are located at intervals along the support and are engagedwith therbar 12 in a manner to maintain it parallel to the support and hold the fabric under constant tension. The fastener, in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, comprises a metal rod or shank having a threaded portion'14 extending a suitable distance from one end and having at its .opposite end a hook 15. The threaded end of the shank is adapted to be screwed into a nut-like element comprising a a head 16 having a longitudinally-divided tapering body whereof the members 17 are bored and internally threaded co-axially with the head and are contractible and expansible with respect to the longitudinal axis of the nut element and are of a greater length than the thickness of the wall of the support so that when the divided members 17 are spread as shown in Fig. 5, the greatest dimension of said spread members" is considerably greater than the opening in which they are seated.

When the divided tapering body is con tracted to substantially cylindrical form, the longitudinal bore thereof tapers from the inner to the outer end of the body, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Hence the cylindrical body can be easily inserted in an appropriate aperture 18 in the inner wall of the hollow sup port 10 until the head 16 bears against the wall, whereupon, if the threaded portion of the shank be screwed into and through the head of the nut element, such portion will engage the 'converginginternally threaded portions 19 of the members and will forcibly spread the latter until the threaded surfaces are parallel, or substantially so, thus causing the exterior portions of such member to resume their tapering orsubstantiallv conical form and bear hard against the wall of the aperture. Consequently the nut is effectually locked to the support against longitudi-l nal movement but is free torotate, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. The hook 15 of the shank-is engaged with the bar 12 and the head I of the nut is manipulated by means of a wrench, or, other tool, in a manner to position the shank and the bar with respect to the support to efiect the desired tension of the wire fabric.

By a reverse rotation of the nut head, the

I, shank can be moved outward to relieve the tension from the fabric or to release the hook from the stretcher bar, as occasion may re- .quire.

The ,foregoing described construction em .bodyingour invention affords a simple, neat V andefli'c ent-means for fastenlng w1re fabric to hollow ,posts and the like, which means .avoids the otherwise necessity of extending the shank "memberentirely through the opposite walls of the post and providing a se-' 7' curing nut on thethreaded extremity of the .shan I In Figs. 7 8, and 9 we have shown a modificationzofthe nut element wherein the bifurcated body 17 is normally cylindrical, or substantially so, and the axial borethereof is tapering. .The inner, or larger end of this bore is a'trifie smaller in diameter than the bore of thenut' element, and the wallswof the respective bores are smooth or untapped.

The nut element is composed of a metal or I alloy relatively softer than that ofthe thread- .edshank 14:, and the diameter of the cylindrical body is such that it can be readily inserted in the aperture 18 of the support 10.

When the body is seated in the aperture the threaded end of the shank is inserted in the bore of the head 16, and theshank is hammered inward to force the threaded shank through the tapering bore of the body. The entering action of the shank upon the tapering body wedges the members 17 apart and ams them against the walls of the aperture,

bolt can be adjusted in either longitudinal di-j rection,as desired, to efiect the requisite tensioning of the fabric.

We claim j 1. A tensioning device for a flexible fence or the like, comprising a rodhaving a thread on one end and means on the other end. for

securing it to the fence to 'be tensioned, a

nut-like element arranged to be passed through an opening in a support to extend beyond-the opposite face of the support from the side thereof adjacent the fence tobe tensioned, coacting means on the rod and the inserted end of the nut for expanding that portion of the nut passed throughthe support to prevent the withdrawal of the'nutfl when the nut is turned to tension the fence. 2. A tensioning device for a flexible fence or the'like, comprising a rod'having athread on one end and means on the other end for securing it to the fence to be tensioned, a

threaded nut arranged to be passed through an opening in asupport to extend beyond the opposite face of the support from the side thereof adjacent the fencetobe tensioned, coacting means on therod and the inserted end of the nut for expanding that portionof the nut passed through the support to pre-' vent the Withdrawal of the nut when the nut is turned to tension the fence.

fabric or the like, comprising a rod threaded.

at one end and having means on the-other end for securing it to the fence fabric, a'nutlike element having a head and divided members extending from one end of the head, the thickness of said members belng greater remote from the head than "at their junctions with the head and arranged to be applied head first on the threaded end of the rod, a support having a wallof less thickness than the length of the divided members of the nut and having an opening through its wall, the

opening being of greater area .than the greatest cross-sectlonal area of the divided members, so as to permit the free insertion there of, and coacting means on the rod and nut for spreading the free ends of the divided members beyond the edges of the opening, whereby the nut may be turned to. tension the fence and be restrained against longitudinal movement relative to the support. r

4. Atensioning device arranged to be conneeted to a support having an opening therethrough, embodying a threaded rod and a nut comprising a head and a body having divided members extending from one end of the head, said body being of greater length than the thickness of the wall of the support through which it extends, the cross-sectional area of said members being greater remote from the head than adjacent to the head but less than the area of the opening, and coacting means on the nut and rod for spreading the extremities of said members beyond the edge of the opening, whereby the nut may be turned to apply tension to the rod and be restrained against longitudinal movement relative to the support.

5. A tensioning device arranged to be con- I neeted to a support having an opening therethrough, embodying a threaded rod and a threaded nut comprising a head and a bodyv having divided tapering members extending from one end of the head, said body being of greater length than the thickness of the wall of the support through which it extends, the cross-sectional area of said members being greater remote from the head than adjacent to the head but less than the area of the opening, and coaeting means on the nut'and rod for spreading the extremities of said members beyond the edge of the opening,

whereby the nut may be turned to apply tension to the rod and be restrained against longitudinal movement relative to the suport.

Signed at the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland this 12th day of February A. D. 1929.

STANLEY PIVONSKI. FREDERICK JOSEPH CANITZ, JR. 

